Jimmy Carter allowed surveillance in 1977

The Washington Times reports:

Former President Jimmy Carter, who publicly rebuked President Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program this week during the funeral of Coretta Scott King and at a campaign event, used similar surveillance against suspected spies. "Under the Bush administration, there's been a disgraceful and illegal decision — we're not going to the let the judges or the Congress or anyone else know that we're spying on the American people," Mr. Carter said Monday in Nevada when his son Jack announced his Senate campaign. "And no one knows how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated under this secret act," he said. The next day at Mrs. King's high-profile funeral, Mr. Carter evoked a comparison to the Bush policy when referring to the "secret government wiretapping" of civil rights leader Martin Luther King. But in 1977, Mr. Carter and his attorney general, Griffin B. Bell, authorized warrantless electronic surveillance used in the conviction of two men for spying on behalf of Vietnam. The men, Truong Dinh Hung and Ronald Louis Humphrey, challenged their espionage convictions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which unanimously ruled that the warrantless searches did not violate the men's rights. In its opinion, the court said the executive branch has the "inherent authority" to wiretap enemies such as terror plotters and is excused from obtaining warrants when surveillance is "conducted 'primarily' for foreign intelligence reasons."

There's more at: Stop the ACLU; Captain's Quarters; Rhymes with Right; There is a great discussion going on at All Things Beautiful about the issue of surveillence and 'America's Useful Idiots'. We, as Americans, are facing an enemy we haven't really clearly defined in our consciousness. We have been dividing into camps about how to deal with this enemy. Some don't even acknowledge there is an enemy and continue to insist we aren't really at war. Some work hard to minimalize the threat we are faced with. I'm afraid our enemy is at war with us, whether we admit it or not. I worry about how far they are going to have to go to get our full attention. Most of us know that the screaming and moaning about the suveillance issue right now is just the lastest attempt to discredit our President in the eye of the public. It's just politics. So some are playing politics with the future of our country. More personally, with the lives of our Soldiers. It makes me think of Nero fiddlin' while Rome burns.

My Blog is Broken

Several people have mentioned to me that my blog is broken. Well, actually the design of the blog. I've seen blogs that I couldn't read, with overlaping sidebars or text so big or little or overlapping that you couldn't read it. I'm so ignorant about this that I thought they just didn't know how to set it up! But I now understand it has to do with the program being used to view the template. Anyway .... It looks fine to me. But I'm not using Fire Fox. I have no earthly idea how to fix it. Can anyone help? I've thought of switching to Fire Fox or Mozilla. But if I do, does that mean people viewing with IE won't be able to view it? Thanks for the feedback and thanks in advance for any help!

Cartoon of the Day

See more Samantha Burns Cartoons.

Weekend Link Party

I'm a little late getting the linkfest up for the weekend! If you have a post you want to share - send a trackback here. Also, remember there needs to be a link to this blog in the post you trackback here.

Check out other linkfests at Linkfest Haven and the trackbacks below. Looking forward to hearing from you. Trackback URL

http://haloscan.com/tb/bluestarchronicles/113961800080956385

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The Chinese telephone and oral transmission Excerpt: I wonder how the Google/China hegemony will deal with that title but on to the subject at hand. In an online discussion I had recently, someone compared the way the Bible developed to the Chinese telephone or whispers game many of us have experienced... Weblog: Mark My Words Tracked: 02.10.06 - 4:28 pm

Cartoon of bloggers Excerpt: What you gonna do about it, bloggy? Riot? Burn down your computer? I dare ya! I dare ya! Trackbacked to: Michelle Malkin Liberal Common Sense THM’s Bacon Bits Quietly Making Noise The Conservative Cat Everyman Chronicles NIF... Weblog: ★imaginekitty ★Tracked: 02.10.06 - 6:49 pm Interesting Comparison of Jesus and Muhammad Excerpt: The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery. . . . If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. Weblog: The Median Sib Tracked: 02.11.06 - 12:30 am What Religion are You? Excerpt: If you're confused with all the talk about different religions, there is a handy-dandy quiz you can take to find out what religion is the best fit for you. Weblog: The Median Sib Tracked: 02.11.06 - 12:40 am My Dignified and Genteel Post of the Day Excerpt: Here is a story - dignified and refined - and hopefully the lesson will stay with you for a long time. Weblog: The Median Sib Tracked: 02.11.06 - 12:50 am

I Think I'm a Rino... Excerpt: Lately, as many of you may have noticed, I haven't been in the mainstream of the Republican Party. I come to realize that I'm more of a conservative-leaning-libertarians rather than the hardcore conservative I once was. Granted, when this blog began ... Weblog: The Liberal Wrong Wing Tracked: 02.11.06 - 5:27 am Weekend Specials 2/11-2/12 Excerpt: New Hee HeeDr. Phat Tony’s has Valentine’s Day Purchase advise here.Mensa Barbie as a recipe for Ginger-Danish-Ice CreamGo check on Casey and Andy, just because Weblog: Jo's Cafe Tracked: 02.11.06 - 6:41 am Speaking of Records.... Excerpt: The "World Team" successfully completed a 400 person formation in skydiving in Thailand! Weblog: Chaotic Synaptic Activity Tracked: 02.11.06 - 9:01 am

Carnival of the Celebrities Excerpt: Mensa Barbie takes on Pamela Anderson. Girl Fight! (Can't call it "cat fight" or PeTA will burn down my embassy.) Weblog: Don Surber Tracked: 02.11.06 - 2:51 pm

A Little Help For A Pal Excerpt: Kit & Heidi from Euphoric Reality are hoping to attend the Milbloggers conference In DC this April. Being normal folks they lack what we around here like to call the crazy pimp money. They put a call out on their blog for some blogger donations, so t... Weblog: Freedom Folks Tracked: 02.11.06 - 8:02 pm

I'm Gonna Buy Me Some Wooden Shoes!

You have got to love the Danes! I mean really! While I was revealing the role played by Michelle Malkin in the Cartoon riots (as per the progressive blogger), I went to look at her site (with fear and trembling - see earlier post). While there I saw this article she had written. The Danes have offered only pork-free lunches for their school children since 2001, out of respect for the Muslim children attending the schools. I guess they aren't going to leave out the other children anymore and are going to allow them to eat pork. From Jyllands-Posten article dated February 7, 2006, translated and reported by NeanderNews and passed on by Michelle Malkin

THE SCHOOLS OF COPENHAGEN WILL NO LONGER SERVE ONLY HALAL-BUTCHERED MEAT IN THE STUDENTS HOT LUNCHES

The article states in part:

Students in the Copenhagen council schools shall no longer be denied the choice of pork when they buy their daily hot lunch in the school’s canteen. Out of consideration to pupils with a moslem background there is presently only halal-butchered meat - and no pork at all - in the daily hot meals which are offered at a price of 15 kroner (appr. 2,35 US $) in the canteens of the 49 schools run by the council of Copenhagen. A political majority in the council’s committee for children and youngsters now demand that porkchops and meatballs be introduced on the menu. “We need to see more freedom of choice in the canteens. It’s fine with me that the ethnic minorities can have halal-meat but those who want pork should find it available. When it comes to food there are many minorities and they should all be accomodated”, says Jan Andreasen, spokesman on educational issues for the [ruling] Social Democrats.

and ...

Liberal and conservative politicians are in favor of pork and other non-halal dishes being on offer in the canteens every day.

and ...

Conservative council leader Majbritt Mamsen would rather that no halal-meat at all was served. “It just is not right that my own and other children should eat food which has been processed in accordance with the rituals of a foreign religion. As a minimum we ought to be able to offer pork or other sorts of non-halal meat to the children of non-moslem background”, Majbritt Mamsen says.

Now I'm going to polish up those shoes an start clogging .....

It's Michelle Malkin's fault!

As I was perusing the blog world last night, I ran across an uber-liberal, sorry, I mean progressive blog that explained the current cartoon carnage is actually Michelle Malkin's doing. Who would have thought that! You know how it is. When something happens we have to, absolutely must find out who is to blame. Someone is to blame for everything, even hurricanes. It's usually George W. Bush. Sometimes we can blame any ol' Republican. Inevitably it's America and/or an American. Once in a while, just every once in a while, we can blame something on Britian. But usually it's Bush's fault. That's pretty much a given, so it surprised me a little to see that the cartoon riots are Michelle Malkin's fault. I had to read on. The author of the blog offered proof positve of Ms. Malkin's culpability in this global conflict. It seems that Ms. Malkin created this story so that she could be the primary source of information on the conflict. And, low and behold, hers has been the go-to blog for news on the cartoons and the riots!!! Proof! I've noticed Ms. Malkin has had trouble getting people to visit her blog and worried about her every single day. Poor thing. Further proof is offered in the fact that the signs carried by the protesters are written in English! The progressive thinking blog author writes that obviously the rioters would write their death threats in their native tongues (plural). In addition, she points out that the same person had to have written each sign because the letters are the same. She points specifically to the 's's' (how does one write the plural of 's'?) Writing the signs in English and with all the 'S's the same was a major oversight on Ms. Malkin's part! She might want to make a note of that for the next time she wants to create world conflict. Why, I thought, would Ms. Malkin invent this crisis? Surely she could have gotten more blog traffic without creating a major global conflict! She could have tried Blog Explosion, for instance. There are other ways, I'm sure any number of people would have helped her had she only asked. She didn't have to incite bloody, fiery mobs bent on the utter destruction of Western civilization and killing any and every one who is not Muslim! That's just a tad extreme, I thought. Then, finally, the author of the progressive blog revealed the real motive behind Ms. Malkin's nefarious doings! It seems Ms. Malkin's husband is Jewish. Ah-ha! We know about the Zionist Conspiracy. There have been lots of Zionist conspiracies. It seems this is just another example of how Israel routinely pulls the wool over the world's collective eyes. After all, look at how Israel orchestrated 9/11 just to turn America against Muslims! I had no idea Michelle Malkin had so much power. Now I'll be walking on eggs when I read her blog. How does one act? There are protocol for behavior when one meets the President or Royalty or the Pope. What is the protocol for reading this all-powerful blogger's blog?? Let's recap. Michelle Malkin created this crisis in order to get more traffic on her blog but she really was just a pawn in the larger conspiracy of the Zionists who play on the innate biogtry of the fly-over-country-hillbilly-backward-ignorant citizens of the United States. All of this so that Israel can dominate the world. Furthermore, if you think otherwise, you are a bigot and a racist. As per the progressive blog writer. Are you taking notes? Okay. Remember. We are bigots if we think the Muslim world is waging war against us. We are not bigots if we think the Jewish world is sneaking around getting the Muslim population to act-out in front of the cameras so we'll all be outraged by their behavior. Got it? So, if we are sophisticated enough, we will understand that what we see and hear is not real but a complicated highly orchestrated scheme to make us wage war against the Muslim world so that Israel can take over the world. Makes your head hurt doesn't it?

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I wrote this post and when I hit the upload button it disappeared. I've re-written it. Could it be that Michelle Malkin made it disappear?? Just to be on the safe side I'll be practicing my bowing and genuflecting.

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Quote Of The Day: Blue Star Chronicles Excerpt: Beth from BSC, regarding a Moonbat blog theory that the Muslin cartoon riots were caused by Michelle Malkin. Weblog: The Paladin Blog Tracked: 02.09.06 - 6:13 pm

Yak of the Week (02.03 and 02.10.2006) Let's Hear it for PMS! Excerpt: Some of you may have noticed that we didn't make our usual "Yak of the Week" award last week. As it happens, this week we have enough yaks to fill a month, so we're granting both the February 3 award and teh February 10 award simultaneously: Weblog: Random Yak Tracked: 02.10.06 - 10:05 am

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Linked to: Is it just Me?; Stuck on Stupid; Adam's Blog; TMH's Bacon Bits; Jo's Cafe; Third World County; Everyman Chronicles; The Liberal Wrong; The Uncooperative Blogger; Cao's Blog; Right Wing Nation; Blogging Out Loud; MacBro's Place ; Basil's Blog; The Bullwinkle Blog; Stop the ACLU

Who's in (remote) Control?

My Beloved Curmudgeon and I got home at the same time today. About 6 p.m. We walked in the house and talked a bit. He went about getting the trash together and up the hill to the curb and taking care of the dogs. I started in on the kitchen, getting the dishwasher loaded and the counters clean. Eventually we both ended up in the den. He sat down in his overstuffed chair and started the time honored male ritual of channel surfing. Click, click, click. I sat down at the computer and started looking around to see what was going on in the blogdom. I long ago blocked out the clicking of the remote and the seemingly endless changing of channels. I can remember many times in the past getting interested in some show, only to have him change the channel. Then I'd get interested in whatever was on that show, and he'd change the channel. I have seen him change the channels and land on commercials for a while. Then change it again as the show was coming back on. I've asked him more than once if he is actually watching or if it's just reflex. He usally laughs when I say something like that. He seems to think I'm joking. Occassionally, I get to handle the remote. If I pick it up when he's in the shower or not at home. In the past it didn't matter. He would still take it back and start channel surfing again, I'm certain without even realizing what he had done. That used to make me mad. He used to tell me that handling the remote was a big responsiblity and needed to be done just right. He explained that I needed to let him take that burden from me. That became an ongoing joke for a while. As time has gone by I have migrated to the computer for down time and just hear the TV in the background. So now he's trying to be more aware of when I have started watching a show (after all these years!). For instance, I took the remote last night while he was in the shower and flipped over to a girly movie on what we call the 'wife abuse channel' (Lifetime Television for Women). When he came back into the room he didn't take the remote!!! I expected him to. I waited for him to. I think he started to and then realized what he was doing and deliberately let the show stay on. He made a few sarcastic statements about the show, but he can't help himself from doing that. That's just who he is. Overall, he was very good. But I could tell it was painful for him. I waited to see how long he'd bear it before he changed the channel. I really wasn't that interested in the show, but it seemed a matter of principal. Finally, I was feeling his pain so intensely I gave him the remote and said, 'go ahead and change the channel, I know you want to.' He replied, 'No, we can watch this if you want', his finger twitching over the channel button. 'No, change it, it doesn' matter to me. I know you want to.' 'Okay, if you really don't care.' Gee, that took a lot of arm twisting. And as quick as a toad catches a fly, the channels were flying past us. The poor thang, he was channel changing deprived. I had to give him credit for his control and tolerance. If you only knew how much progress that short exchange represents! I'm very proud. Tonight I was reading blogs and he was in his chair. The familiar channeling white noise was in the background. After a while I heard a little snore. I looked around and sure enough, he had dozed off. I kept blogging. The channel changed again. I looked around thinking he had woken up. He appeared to still be asleep. I thought maybe he was just resting his eyes as we say down here. I went over to the other part of the room and sat down and looked at him. He was asleep. He was definitly asleep. AND changing channels. Not as frequently and more sporatically but changing them all the same. Click, click, click. In - his - sleep. This is a true story ... Sadly. Linked to: Is it just Me?; Stuck on Stupid; Adam's Blog; TMH's Bacon Bits; Jo's Cafe; Third World County; The Real Ugly American; Everyman Chronicles; The Liberal Wrong; The Uncooperative Blogger; Cao's Blog; Right Wing Nation; Blogging Out Loud; MacBro's Place ; Basil's Blog

The Dane's Unique Moral Courage

I ran across The Englishman's Castle tonight and found some interesting stories. I ended up reading there a while and following his links around the internet.

One story in particular is of interest. In his post Surrender Monkeys he quotes from the childrens book Sandi Toksvig, Hitler's Canary.

The story of how the Danish, uniquely, stood up to the Nazi invasion of their country by smuggling out virtually their entire population of Jews, thus saving them from the gas chambers, is one that should be better-known. The broadcaster and comedienne, Sandi Toksvig, is herself half Danish, and she has woven the tales her father told her about the occupation of Copenhagen with Edmund Burke’s famous dictum that “the one condition necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” ...

There are not as many classic children’s novels about the Second World War as there should be, but this is one of them. Yet this was a war in which children, above all, were victims and heroes, and Toksvig’s enchanting and inspiring tale reminds us of how even the smallest people made a difference.

In my own reading about this story,

There does seem to have been something unique in the spirit of this brave little country, in which King Christian could ride around the streets, guarded only by the love of his subjects, and in which there has never been a ghetto thanks to Denmark being the first country to grant the Jews full, unconditional emancipation. As Bamse’s father tells him, “There are large Danes, small Danes, lazy Danes, hard-working Danes, even Great Danes…but we are all Danish. That’s all."

I hadn't been aware of this story before. I'm learning so much about the Danes now. In the Englishman's Castle comments there is the story of a man from Greece who helped Jews escape. Following his last trip, the English told him he had been found out by the Nazis. He couldn't return home. He fought along with the British army until after the war, his family not knowing what had become of him.

It's always interesting to me how the ordinary person has the capacity to make an enormous difference in the lives of the people around them and in the world. Everyday people can exhibit enormous bravery and astounding cowardice.

Ordinary people are the bedrock upon which our society is built.

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Linked to: Bright and Early; TMH's Bacon Bits; Stuck on Stupid; Third World County; The Real Ugly American; Jo's Cafe; Basil's Blog; Bloggin Out Loud; Cao's Blog; Prying 1; Is it just Me?; The Bullwinkle Blog; Stop the ACLU; Atlas Shrugs

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Woman Honor Thyself is one of my favorite blogs. She writes well and doesn't mince words (I like that). She has been trying to trackback her article Painful Images without success. She writes about the power of images and relates it to the degradation of women through pornography.

Perhaps women and men of true conscience ought to learn a lesson from all of this madness.

Not advocating amputation and random murders like barbarian savages are doing all over the world now in response to the perceived offense..

but SPEAK OUT ...let your voices be heard.

Go check it out :)

Will we let Islam bully us?

Flagrant Harbour has a post explaining that the cartoon riots were not precipitated by the publishing of the cartoons, but started several months later when Islamic leaders of Denmark took the cartoons, along with some they made themselvs that were much more inflamatory, to the Middle East inflaming the populations.

It is time the modern world stood up and demanded that the moderate, tolerant Moslems we are led to believe are the majority of followers, took control of their religion. The reaction to these cartoons, cartoons, demonstrates that Institution of Islam and the people who lead it [not all the people who follow it], truly is the most dangerous enemy to the future of this planet.

Among other things, he points to an excellent article in the UK Opinion.telegraph. Democracy has a gun held to its head

For let us not delude ourselves: it is violence, or the threat of violence, that has driven the decisions that have been made in the past week. At a time when reasonable dialogue is most needed, the supposed custodians of our democracy are allowing a gun to be held to its head.

I've noticed after the strong reaction of the citizens of the western nations over the last few days, more of the Muslim leaders are nervously coming out to call for the riots to stop. I'm thinking they didn't expect the reaction they got. I also think that we must respond with strength and resolve. Just like dealing with a bully on the playground.

Capitalism in Gaza

Isn't Capitalism wonderful! Prying 1 explains how a Palistinian shop owner turned the Danish Cartoon riots into an opportunity for more profitability.

Don't Argue With Vietnam Vets

I found this excerpt from The Screwtape Reports over on Adam's Blog.

The last thing we want to do is get into argument with old military men about what happened 36 years ago. You can only lose credibility debating this. For example, Senator Kerry’s claim to be in Cambodia on Christmas Eve, 1968 is a land mine you’d best avoid. He blamed President Richard Nixon for sending him there while denying US presence in the country. While I’m sure, Nixon did send him to Cambodia, Nixon had to have made the request in an unofficial capacity as he didn’t take office for another month. Most people don’t believe that Navy lieutenants have to obey orders from Republican President-elects. Try and explain that simple fact and you’ll come off as foolish.-Dave Screwtape in Screwtape #17: Handling the Swifties

Since my Beloved Curmudgeon is a Vietnam Veteran, Navy no less, I have had a special interest in this. So I couldn't help but reprint it here.

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Meanwhile, since we are looking over at Adam's Blog, let's do a linkfest for the rest of the evening. If you want to link back here, have at it :)

Trackback URL:

http://haloscan.com/tb/bluestarchronicles/113944535601537425

Tracked to Linkfest Haven ....

Hegemony Excerpt: Several new stories concerning the well-known search engine.US college backs Google Book plan... Weblog: Mark My Words Tracked: 02.09.06 - 3:18 pm

It's a Zionist Conspiracy

Earlier I was wondering why the Muslims were doing payback with Israel when it was Denmark and other European countries that had printed the cartoons they were so mad about. Now I get it. This is in Wednesday's news.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday a "Zionist conspiracy" was to blame for the row over the Prophet Mohammed cartoons. "According to their (the West's) freedom of speech, any kind of doubt or denial about the myth of the killing of Jews is banned, but insulting the feelings of more than 1.5 billion Muslims is allowed," he said. "This is a conspiracy planned by the Zionists to lead to confrontation between Muslims and Christians.

So Crazy Politico had the correct answer (see previous comments) Do y'all remember the movie, The Sum of all Fears? One of the things I remember from that movie is that the evil-doers (I don't remember who the bad-guys were) couldn't defeat America or Russia, so their plan was to pit America and Russia against each other. The ultimate goal being that both would be destroyed and the evil-doers would take over the world. I'm thinking the Imans who exagerated and spread around the story of the cartoons in the Muslim world may have seen that movie. They seem to actually think they can set up Israel by creating a conflict and setting the west, particularly the United States, against Israel. Do they believe we are that dumb? The answer to that is probably yes. So Wordsmith may have been right as well (see comments below). They may have been watching too much SNL and South Park.

adios

Why Do Y'all Think.....

Why do y'all think the Muslim world is mad at Europe and in particular Denmark, but Iran Daily newspaper has launched a contest for cartoons of the Holocaust? How did Israel get lumped into the mix with Denmark and Europe?? Just pondering it ....

I support Denmark and Israel.

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Trackbacked by:

The Protest Signs are Written in ENGLISH (Cartoons, Muslim Excerpt: One thing I've noticed throughout all the news stories about the lunatic Muslims burnings, killings, rioting and boycotting...the signs are written in English.The intended audience is the west. Their purpose is to influence westerners - not to e .... Weblog: The Median Sib Tracked: 02.07.06 - 7:33 pm

Blog Snipetts ....

Right Wing Nation has some interesting information about Congressman Maurice Hinchey's assertion that the Bush Administration deliberatly let Osama Bin Laden slip through our grasp in Afghanistan. Also, the extreme right wing's theory that Karl Rove planned a terrorist attack on the Super Bowl and the lack of media coverage of Venezuelans rallying against dictator Hugo Chavez. Blond Sagacity thinks it's awfully convenient that the Muslims had a seemingly endless supply of Danish flags on the ready to riot half a year after the Danish cartoons were published. Knocking on the Golden Door gives analyses Anti-Semitism At Sonoma State University. On a lecture by Allison Weir he attended:

Weir's presentation began with a glib statement that she did not take sides in the Israeli -"Palestinian" Arab conflict, and that she was interested in human rights for all people, everywhere. What ensued was three hours of some of the most vile anti-Israeli propaganda that I have yet witnessed. It became clear very early on that she, in fact, was anything but an objective observer of events in the Middle East.

An Elephant in my Coffee gives some insight into what life would be like If the Liberals Ruled. Crazy Politio explains how it's America's fault. It? What is it we are to blame for? Well, right now it's the Muslim riots, of course. Tomorrow it'll be whatever else is wrong. Daddy's Roses helps us tell if He's Husband Material. !!!!! The Median Sib has a good Broke Back Post with a lot of links reviewing the movie... Ruthlace has a beautiful poem in loving memory of her husband... There's so much more, but I'm out of time right now. ciao....

The Saddam Tapes

Posted on Stop the ACLU The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is studying 12 hours of audio recordings between Saddam Hussein and his top advisers that may provide clues to the whereabouts of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The committee has already confirmed through the intelligence community that the recordings of Saddam's voice are authentic, according to its chairman, Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, who would not go into detail about the nature of the conversations or their context. They were provided to his committee by a former federal prosecutor, John Loftus, who says he received them from a former American military intelligence analyst. Also reporting ... The Jawa Report; Argghhh!; Euphoric Reality ;

Open posts ...

The Median Sib; Third World County

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Trackbacks: And on the seventh day, Stephen Hayes rested... Excerpt: From the New York Sun:The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is studying 12 hours of audio recordings between Saddam Hussein and his top advisers that may provide clues to the whereabouts of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. The c... Weblog: protein wisdom Tracked: 02.07.06 - 9:18 am

That Sinking Feeling

I just walked by the televsion and heard some Marines have been killed by IEDs in Iraq. I didn't hear how many. My heart sank for a second. It sinks every time I hear that. My son isn't a Marine, he's in the Army. He's also not in Iraq right now. I know it's not my son, but my heart still sinks when I hear that. I have intense feelings when I see the pictures of the anarchy in the Muslim world. In my heart I know that at some point my son is going to have to be a part of dealing with that. I read a lot on the blogs of other mothers and fathers and family members of soldiers and I get the same sense from their writings. I hope y'all will correct me if I'm wrong. But I think it's that we know it could be our son or daughter. The way these people fight, it's just the luck of the draw. It could be any of them. We know how precious our children are. And we all know that they are facing horrific situations. If we could do it for them we would. If it's not my son, it's another mother's son or daugher. My heart breaks whenever I hear that. If anyone wonders why we watch the events in the Muslim world so closely, that's why. If I have to choose between the rampaging mobs of medieval religious fanatics and our sons and daughters. It's no contest.

God bless all our Soldiers.

Link Fest Party

Tuesday Link Fest Party

Send a trackback to this post and it will be listed here if it meets the following requirements: 1. Make sure you link back to this post or blog in the post you send. That's about the only requirement - so send them on. Disclaimer: trackbacks to this post do not necessarily represent the opinions or standards of the Blue Star Chronicles.

Trackback url:

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Other Linkfest can be found at Linkfest Haven

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“24″ Day 5: 1pm to 2pm Excerpt: Weblog: Jo's Cafe Tracked: 02.07.06 - 3:09 am Stating the Obvious, The Washington Post, and Tuesday LinkFest Excerpt: The Washington Post had a story this morning that made me laugh.Afghan ... Weblog: The Median Sib Tracked: 02.07.06 - 3:24 am Robert Turner Vs. Glenn Greenwald Excerpt: I tivod The Washington Journal program on C-SPAN yesterday morning (thank you Al Gore for inventing the intraweb and the digital age) and thank you to Glenn Greenwald for mentioning it on his site. Glenn appeared with Con Law professor Robert Turner... Weblog: The Real Ugly American.com Tracked: 02.07.06 - 7:24 am Darth W and His Stormtroopers of Food Distribution Excerpt: Don't look now, but the evil Darth W has done it again!This time, his evil Stormtroopers of Food Distribution are helping to open food centers i Weblog: Random Yak Tracked: 02.07.06 - 7:54 am The Face of Racism Excerpt: On February 2nd, WorldNetDaily published an article accusing Julian Bond, NAACP Chairman, of comparing the GOP to Nazis. The article also went on to accuse Bond of calling Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell "tokens." Bond vehemently denied comparing th... Weblog: Everyman Chronicles Tracked: 02.07.06 - 8:13 am

The fewer assumptions the better Excerpt: In several discussions and debates I have had online, this quote has been presented in such a way, that some appear to think it decisively shuts down any argument in favor of the God of Christianity. Weblog: Mark My Words Tracked: 02.07.06 - 9:30 am

The End of Reason

Oh my! It looks like the followers of the “Religion of Peace” are at it again. Muslims are rioting worldwide and targeting Danish and Norwegian embassies wherever they can find them in the Islamic world. The faithful are offended by political cartoons seen in the newspapers of these two countries that depict Mohammad in an unfavorable way. Actually, Muslims believe any images of their prophet are blasphemous. If you blaspheme you are an infidel and must be killed. It really is as simple as that. If you try and look at this thru a Western lens their response to a cartoon is inexplicable. What about freedom of press and speech? Some of us have tried to understand their actions and have even tried to construct a logical syllogism worthy of a college professor in an attempt explain and, thus render acceptable, Muslim reaction. As with many things, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. In this case, it’s in the Koran. What should also be understood is the fact that these are the people we are attempting to deal with worldwide. In Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iran and everywhere else including in this country. Sam Harris in his book “The End of Faith” states that the current problems with Muslim terror are not due to Islamic fundamentalists but, rather, the fundamentals of Islam. The issue is world domination. We are at war with Islam for our survival and the survival of Western values and the preservation of reason. We in the United States have some allies in this struggle, namely, everybody else who is not Muslim. It is finally becoming clear to all just who the enemy is and the nature of that enemy. A united front and a determination to end this threat will prevail. We can bring some peace to the followers of this religion.

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*written by my Beloved Curmudeon, 2.6.2006. Emphases are mine.

Lots of people are talking about it:

Stop the ACLU; A Rose by any other Name; Classical Values; Michelle Malkin, Prying 1; Pirates Cove; The Wide Awake Cafe; Sisu; Uncivil Rights; Jo's Cafe; Adam's Blog; My Opinion on Politics; Right Wing Nation; Rhymes with Right; Theodore's World; The Violence Worker; My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ; Stuck on Stupid; Don Surber; Basil's Blog; Blogging our Loud; Aubrey J.; Echo9er; The Median Sib; The Real Ugly American; A Tic of the Mind's Eye; Code Red: Women for the Troops; PebblePie; Small Town Veteran; 4 The Little Guy; Sister Toldjah; Argghhh!; Blogs for Bush; Big Dog's Weblog; Confederate Yankee; Protein Wisdom; Elephant in my Coffee; Dr. Sanity; In the Bullpen; Mark in Mexico; Freedom Folks; Samantha Burns; Obligatory Anecdotes; Mudville Gazette; My Opinion on Politics; Sparks from the Anvil; Eye of the Storm; Southern Appeal; Mark Nicodemo; The Paladin; Wizbang; Two Babes with a Brain; Infidel Cowboy

Carnival of Blue Stars - 1st Edition

I think it's time for those of us with loved ones serving our country in the Armed Forces to have our own Carnival. So I have set up a Carnival of Blue Stars. This is for wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends of our service men and women. If you care about our Soldiers, you are qualified to submit an entry to the Carnival of Blue Stars. What kind of posts? Let's see what comes up. Leave a comment in the comments section of this to make a submision to the Carnival of Blue Stars. Leave the name of your blog; the URL of your blog; the title of your post; the URL of your post; a brief sumary of the post you are submitting. Since this is just getting started, I'll be looking for some posts to include.

I'll only include one post per blogger each week. Submissions should be in by 8 p.m. on Saturday to be included in the next week's Carnival of Blue Stars. A new Carnival will be on-line each Sunday morning.

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You can find Carnival of Blue Stars at The Truth Laid Bear's ÜberCarnival.

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You can add this Carnival of Blue Stars badge in your sidebar. Click on the 'Want this badge?' below to get the html code.

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I'm looking forward to hearing from you! Linked to: Red Hot Cuppa Politics; Bright and Early; TMH's Bacon Bits; Stuck on Stupid; Third World County; The Real Ugly American; Jo's Cafe; Basil's Blog; Bloggin Out Loud; Cao's Blog; Is It Just Me?

Let's go Porkbusting ....

About this time every year I start my ritual procrastination of doing our taxes. I have all the information I need to get them done. I just don't want to do them. This year is even worse because last year was the last year we could claim our kids as dependants. Not that we spent any less money helping them get independant during 2005. But still, we can't claim them. Doing our taxes entails me restlessly sitting at the computer wishing I was anywhere but there. Spending hours putting numbers into a computerized tax program this way and that way trying to figure out a way that the IRS doesn't get such a big chunk of our income. It doesn't work of course. I believe the whole thing is rigged. No matter what numbers you put in where, it comes out the same. If a certain amount is put into charitable donations, that same amount is taken out of work related expenses and visa versa. The minimum tax thing - whatever it's called. It gets me every year. I hate it. I have been known to snap at my family, yell at the dogs, slam the mouse down on the desk and, in general, be difficult to live with. I don't like being like that. Just to entertain myself, I looked up some of the things our tax dollars are spent on. Here are just a very few examples of what our money is being spent on: In 2002 the U.S. government spent $50,000 for a tattoo removal program in San Luis Obispo, California. In 1999 the U.S. government spent $500,000 for a Mississippi research project on "manure handling and disposal". In 2002 the U.S. government spent $400,000 for manure management research at the National Swine Research Center. $30,000,000 was spent for the IRS to send out a notice to every person advising them that they would be receiving a tax refund in 2001. In 2001 more than $600,000 in tax money was spent on researching the sex lives of South African ground squirrels. While Andrew Cuomo was HUD Secretary under Bill Clinton, the agency set up a 'Creative Wellness' program that spent $1,100,000 million taxpayer dollars on 'gem' bags and taught public tenants to burn incense. A National Science Foundation study looking at whether White House reporters have become more adversarial sounds a bit strange to reporters and critics. Even more surprising: the study cost taxpayers $180,000. It's much to depressing to keep going with this. I notice that N.Z.Bear has set up a new Porkbusters page. Maybe we could do something about it. It is our money after all. I support the Fiscal Watch Team Offset Package.

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Weekend's Best of the Blogs Excerpt: Topics range from crime, speeches, and poems to terror, humor and taxes. Here are some posts I found that get an A+. Weblog: The Median Sib Tracked: 02.05.06 - 8:28 pm

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Links to: The Truth Laid Bear - Porkbusters; Don Surber; Basil's Blog; Blogging our Loud; Jo's Cafe